The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-12-04
"Awful!n ] said.

"How long has it bothered you !"
| Continual succession of colds for two
MONTHS
He glanced at the throat half carelessly,
went over and turned on more heat and
then said CURLY:
when can you go South, tomorrow
morning p
| "W ha-what"
| Tomorrow.
why never thought of leaving town
at this season of the year
| "Well, he continued, rising on his toes
and letting himself gently down again, Its
the only thing for you to do. | might tell
| you to come here every day, but cannot do
! you bit OF good at this time Of the year.
! If you can go South, go at once-your case
| is precisely similar to a thousand I've re-
Gently had. The fee is $40. Good morn
ing"
he touched bell, the next unfortunate
| entered and went forth Within an hour
l had sent to Secretary Bayard for a pass
port and had bought my ticket for Havana
on big and snowy steamer. The passport
was forwarded from Washington 10 Cuba
by mail. 1t cost 50 A little, and by no
means a creditable scheme of our govern
ment to collect revenue from such of its
citizens as visit Cuba. No other govern
ment exacts such tax from its people.
When the steamer sailed for New York
that day the storm signals were flying, and
the forerunner of a hurricane had arrived
The water was lumpy, and the Captain
remarked to me confidentially when we were
off Sandy Hook that we were goin' TO
have about as nasty a night as Gawd a
mighty could manufacture off hand All
the women were deathly sick before we had
been three hours out, and most of the men
were in their berths, but four of
us managed to make up a game
or whist in the smoking room and we played
there until midnight when the pitching of
the steamer made it impossible TO keep on
seat. II was as curiously incongruous a
party as | ever Joined. One man was an
Englishman of title-a baronet--who had
married Gillian heiress and was on his
way to take her to England from Havana;
another, most accomplished and agreeable
japanese, travelling Tor pleasure, and at
tended by huge negro servant, and the
third, Chicago gambler who had once
broken baccarat bank in Paris TO the tune
of $40, 600 He spoke French and Spanish
like native. We became well acquainted
as men are apt to over a card table on ship
board. When we arrived at Havana we
had dinner at a capital restaurant and
parted, never in all likelihood to meet again.
have detailed my experience with the
doctors above merely to illustrate the ex-
traordinary advantages of Southern trip.
1t doesn't make any difference whether you
RO ny Idll vi SSd dS iOuE as you liIONS bOHdIu
the equator. The second day out | forgot
all about my ailments, and was in as com
plete and perfect trim as a prize athlete.
The relief the sensation of absolute health
and the absence of all the evidences of the
colds that had cost me so much misery and
money in New York, made me feel like a
school boy on a holiday. There's no patent
medicine that equals the soft air of the
South after the rasping billiards OF the
Northern States.
Havana is the most extraordinary town
in the world. Though it is so near America,
it is no more like it in the most minute par
ticular than Tunis, Algiers or Morocco. The
whole island is ridden by an army of Span
iards Military uniforms are three to one
civilian dress in the streets, and the Spanish
commanders are sucking the lifes blood out
of the most beautiful island in the West In
dies A more brutal, heartless and inhuman
set of rulers never lived. Cuba is the only
Western possession that Spain now holds,
and she is taxing it to the very limit Cuba
pays Spain the enormous sum of S24, 000, 900
for the support of the great Spanish army
that keeps her in bondage. If man wishes
to keep billiard table, he must pay tax
of $50 year in gold Pictures that hang in
houses are taxed and theslandlord pays so
much to the government for every guest
who enters his h tel. 1t is not to be won
dered at that the danger of an insur-
rection keeps Spain busy pouring soldiers
into this little island. The last instruction
cost nearly 100000 lives, and everybody here
knows that there is danger of another one at
almost any time. l ran down into tbs in
terror of the island few days after my
arrival towards CienfuegoS. In every rail
road car there were from ten to twenty sol
diers; at every station file of thirty soldiers
received the train and insps cted the passen-
gers who alighted, and all along the white
roads were military detachments. Despite
this tremendous display of power the
people have secret organizations,
and rural Cuba is believed to be
secretly under arms. There is no
hint of it in the papers, for the very good
reason that there is a press censor. Any
thing approaching an accurate description
of the condition Of things in the interior in
a Cuban paper would put an abrupt end to
the editors liberty. Every day at noon the
custom house pays S33, 900 to the Spanish
government on one tax alone The political
and social aspect of Havana is the enc that
strikes intelligent men ON their arrival.
Every Cuban industry is stihed by the
vampire system of tribute. Ten years ago
there were twenty-four commission houses
in the city of Havana to-day there is one
The picturesque features of the place are
many, but the business outlook is dreary in
the extreme. BLAKELY HALL.